Blackalicious releasing first album in 10 years, touring, playing NYC w/ Kool Keith (whose L'Orange collab is out now)
by Andrew Sacher
Kool Keith (aka Dr. Octagon aka Dr. Dooom aka a member of Ultramagnetic MC’s, etc etc etc) recently returned with a new album on Mello Music Group, Time? Astonishing!. It’s a collaboration with North Carolina producer L’Orange, for whom it was his second collaborative LP of 2015. (The other was The Night Took Us In Like Family with Jeremiah Jae.) Time? Astonishing! features Open Mike Eagle, Blu, Mr. Lif, J-Live and more, and as you might expect from Kool Keith, it’s spacey psychedelic rap. Stream the whole thing (and the whole Jeremiah Jae/L’Orange album) below.
As previously mentioned, Kool Keith is playing shows this year, including NYC’s Brooklyn Bowl on August 20. Since we last spoke, that became a co-headlining show with Blacklicious. Tickets are still available.
That show is part of a much longer tour for Blackalicious (aka Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel), which is in support of their upcoming album, Imani, Vol. 1, that they’re self-releasing on September 18. It’s their fourth album total and first since 2005’s The Craft, and from the sounds of new single “Blacka,” these guys are still fired up. Check it out, with the list of tour dates, below.
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L’Orange & Kool Keith – Time? Astonishing!
L’Orange & Jeremiah Jae – The Night Took Us In Like Family
Blackalicious – “Blacka” (via Noisey)
Blackalicious – Imani, Vol. 1 Tracklist:
01 “Faith (Feat. Amde Of The Watts Prophets)”
02 “Blacka”
03 “Ashes To Ashes”
04 “On Fire Tonight (Feat. Myron Of Myron & E)”
05 “Escape”
06 “The Sun (Feat. Imani Coppola)”
07 “That Night (Feat. Vursatyl and Jumbo of The LifeSavas)”
08 “Inspired By (Feat. Bosko)”
09 “We Did It Again (Feat. Danielle Flax)”
10 “I Like The Way You Talk”
11 “Twist Of Time”
12 “The Blow Up”
13 “Love’s Gonna Save The Day (Feat. Fantastic Negrito)”
14 “Alpha And Omega (Feat. Lateef, Lyrics Born, Monophonics and D Sharp)”
15 “The Hour Glass”
16 “Imani (Feat. Zap Mama)”
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Blackalicious — 2015 Tour Dates
Aug 11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
Aug 12 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Aug 13 – Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Freebird Live
Aug 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Aug 16 – Charleston, SC @ The Pour House
Aug 18 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
Aug 20 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl w/ Kool Keith
Aug 23 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Aug 25 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
Aug 26 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Aug 28 – Toronto, Canada @ Lee’s Palace
Aug 29 – Buffalo, NY @ Studio at Waiting Room
Aug 30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Altar Bar
Sept 01 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
Sept 03 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
Sept 04 – St Louis, MO @ 2720 Cherokee
Sept 05 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
Sept 06 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Sept 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Sept 11 – Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
Sept 12 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
Sept 15 – West Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre
Sept 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Sept 20 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater Flagstaff
Sept 24 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
Sept 26 – Portland, OR @ Star Theater
Sept 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
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Kool Keith — 2015 Tour Dates
8/20 Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY w/ Blackalicious
9/26 Promontory Chicago, IL
